Where’s the Whist Amid the Wisteria?

Being greeted by the sublimely serene sight of fully blooming wisteria in the outer suburban wonderland of Yakushiike Park only to have the calmness crushed by the piercing squeal of a little prick abusing and haranguing me for riding a bicycle in the park wasn’t really what I had been expecting at 5 a.m.

As the angry man hurled invective at me, I felt my blood boil and the urge to smash him in the face was becoming almost uncontrollable.

He screamed loudly, fiercely and incessantly as I tried to take photos of La Cangura amid the flowers.

I envisaged punching him and using my mountain bike shoes to kick him in the face while he lay on the ground. I was utterly infuriated and the prospect of clobbering this bloke was made even juicier by the fact that he was only about half my size and at least close to my age, so he was not immediately apparent physical threat, attracting the bully boy in me. Add in the self-righteousness of having done nothing to this person other than strenuously avoided coming into close contact.

Thankfully, my life is enough of a mess at the moment to not need to add charges or jail time, let alone endure starting over again from scratch and, most importantly, having to live with having severely hurt someone, so I took my bicycle and walked away.

Honestly, though, rather than those quixotic ideals, the little prick’s saving grace was that he appeared to be carrying what I thought was a small dachshund unable to walk for itself, and I didn’t want to do anything that might lead to harming the pooch.

Anyway, I strolled around the park, trying not to get too mad and focusing on getting some good shots in the rain before I would have to rush home in time for a 7 a.m. meeting.

As the gallery shows, my efforts were resoundingly successful and I was blessed. The spitting rain that stopped me going on a real ride was proving a blessing as it accentuated the greenery of the park.

And it was as I came to this realization that I made another discovery: the bloody dachshund the angry little prick was carrying wasn’t a dog; it was a bloody telephoto lens. He had been screaming at me because the bike had given me the speed I needed to get to the best photo spots ahead of him. For some reason, that made his anger a little understandable and I soothed significantly. Knowing I had a camera full of good shots also helped.

Today promises to have some more wonderful moments. I’ll meet my brother and sister-in-law for the first time in several years, albeit briefly as they are flying out. And get to be joined by my youngest daughter! It has already been a magical day and will get better, too.

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